Your brand values clash with a hot social media trend. How do you navigate this digital campaign dilemma?

Here's how I used to navigate this dilemma 1. Understand the trend and if it resonates with your audience. Also, if the trend align with brand identity. 2. Asses the Risks and Opportunities and if it could alienate audience by harming the brand image. or if it could be used to reinforce brand values in a unique way. 3. Basis above, decide to either participate or stay away. Try to add a quirky and fun perspective to the trend that reinforces your brand values. Don't forget to stay true to your brand. 4. Lastly, one must asses how the audience is reacting to your participation. Whether they're engaging or responding. If need be, be ready to adjust or make changes. Don't be afraid to say no to a trend if it doesn't align with brand ethos.

Understanding the Clash When a social media trend doesn’t align with your brand values, it can create a dilemma. Your brand values are the principles that guide your company’s actions and decisions. They shape how your brand is perceived and build trust with your audience. On the other hand, social media trends often focus on current events, popular culture, or viral moments that may not always resonate with your core values. For instance, if your brand promotes sustainability and a viral trend involves a wasteful or environmentally harmful practice, participating in that trend could undermine your brand’s credibility. It’s crucial to evaluate the impact of any trend on your brand’s reputation and values before diving in.

Entrar em uma trend só pelo hype não vale a pena, especialmente, se pode comprometer sua marca. Trends vêm e vão, mas o legado da sua marca não. Branding é construção, por isso avaliar os prós e contras de entrar numa trend é sempre importante.

When your brand values clash with a hot social media trend, carefully assess the potential impact. Start by considering whether participating aligns with your core values. If it doesn't, prioritizing brand integrity is essential to maintaining trust and credibility. Evaluate the likely reaction from your audience—could engagement harm your reputation or alienate loyal customers? Finally, weigh the short-term benefits against potential long-term consequences. In my experience, staying true to your brand's principles, even if it means avoiding popular trends, fosters genuine connections and long-term loyalty. Opt for campaigns that align with your values, ensuring consistent and trustworthy messaging.

Adapt the Trend to Fit Your Brand: Reimagine the Trend: Find ways to adapt the trend so that it aligns with your values. For instance, if a trend involves user-generated content, you could encourage your audience to create content that reflects your brand’s values and mission. Create a Unique Angle: Put a unique spin on the trend that showcases your brand’s personality and values. This approach allows you to participate in the conversation while maintaining authenticity.

Always ensure your campaigns reflect the authentic voice and ethos of your brand, it's crucial to prioritize these values in your decision-making. Start by reaffirming what your brand stands for and how this aligns with your mission and audience expectations. Engaging with a trend that contradicts these values can damage your credibility and trustworthiness. Instead, consider addressing the trend directly, explaining why your brand is choosing a different path. This approach can resonate more deeply with your loyal customers, reinforcing your commitment to your principles. In my experience, staying true to core values fosters long-term loyalty and respect, even if it means missing out on short-term hype.

Revisit your brand’s core values, mission statement, and long-term goals. Ensure that your response to the trend aligns with these foundational principles. Ensure that any content or campaign involving the trend remains consistent with your brand’s established voice and messaging.

Instead of following a trend that doesn’t fit your brand, why not start a counter-trend? For example, if a trend promotes something that goes against your brand’s eco-friendly values, create a campaign that highlights sustainable alternatives. This not only differentiates your brand but also shows your commitment to your core values.

Find creative ways to adapt the trend in a manner that aligns with your brand values. For example, if the trend involves a particular style or theme, you can modify it to fit your brand’s unique perspective.

Look for creative alternatives that resonate with the trend but still stay true to your brand. Think of this as remixing a popular song into your own style — you engage with the trend but do it in a way that reflects your unique brand voice and ethos.

Uma forma interessante de aproveitar uma trend que não tem alinhamento com seus valores é avaliar se ela pode ser aproveitada de outra forma, como uma releitura. Assim, sua marca entra na conversa, mas você não compromete os valores de marca. (às vezes não é possível, então, não entre só por entrar)

Any brand's values always aim at positive social change. Therefore, it will never promote negative behavior in society. If a brand seems negative due to a social trend, dig deeper to find the right messaging. Communicate clearly how the brand value and social trend align with overall positive social change. For eg. Indian govt. banned a lot of mobile apps from companies whose origins were in China due to strategic digital safety issues. This impacted a lot of other apps which were not banned but were from China. These companies at the time, registered a local-Indian subsidiary and even launched Indian versions of their apps in India building trust under adverse public image.

Communicate Transparently: Explain Your Choice: If you decide to engage with a trend that has some level of divergence from your values, clearly communicate why you’ve chosen to participate. Explain how the trend aligns with your brand’s principles in a meaningful way. Stay Authentic: Authenticity is key in digital marketing. Ensure that any message or campaign remains true to your brand’s core values, even if it involves a popular trend.

Se você ainda têm dúvidas sobre que caminho seguir e como algo poderia afetar sua marca, aprenda a ouvir. Analise comentários, menções, entenda o que seu público está falando, como ele interage com sua marca e, claro, quem ele é.

Brand values are not to be spoken, written, and understood clearly. But they are to be expressed, felt, and resonated with. This may create a gap between what the company is expressing and what the audience is understanding. It is important that you have active communication with your team and audience on various channels(social media, support channels, etc.) about specific doubts/misunderstandings. While this one-to-one communication is slow. There are secondary effects where the company can put out such calls/chats as successful case studies and run marketing campaigns around them to signal to larger audiences.

Social Media interactions are often fueled by a frenzy of hatred and self-righteous. Thus, polarizing or antagonistic campaigns are commonly in detrimental to brand reputation. Proceed at your own risk if you have thick skin and if what your brand needs most right now is attention at any cost. If you listen carefully, there are many positive trends and triggers that it's worth having patience, just a couple of weeks in benefit of your brand.

Sometimes, the best action is inaction. Practice strategic patience by waiting out trends that don’t align with your brand values. It’s similar to skipping a fad diet in favor of long-term healthy eating — sometimes trends are just fads that will pass, and not jumping on every bandwagon can strengthen your brand’s identity.

Social trends have a typical life of a few days to a few weeks now. While all brands would love to take part in all social trends, seldom this is possible and even required. Out of say 50 social trends over the year, hardly 5 are highly relevant to a brand. Besides, success from following social trends is non-symmetrical. Out of 5 trends your brand focuses on, one will give 80% of success. With these kinds of odds, if a trend appears tricky, it may be better to let it pass and focus on other trends. If you get negative publicity from a tricky trend, it could disrupt progress from the previous 5 successful campaigns.

Monitor and Evaluate: Track Engagement and Feedback: Keep an eye on how your audience responds to your participation in the trend. Are they engaging positively, or do they express concerns? This feedback can provide valuable insights into whether your approach is working. Adjust as Needed: Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on feedback and engagement metrics. If the trend does not align with your audience’s expectations or your brand values, be ready to pivot or withdraw from the trend.

Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your brand’s strategies and evolve them if necessary. This reflection is like taking a retreat to reflect on your life’s path; it’s crucial for ensuring your brand remains relevant and true to its values, even as market dynamics change.